Son of Primus
by RavenMechanical
Summary: Optimus Prime has returned from his search for the creators with no luck. Shortly after his return, he finds a badly damaged Autobot with little to no story about his past, or so he wants him to believe. The Autobot in question, named Stripes, can't, or won't talk about his past. However, the Decepticons have a great interest in him, and that's just the beginning...
1. Prologue: A Need for Speed

Stripes, a white and blue BMW M3 GTR, pondered over his new-found existence as a Cybertronian. He didn't want this. He didn't want to get dragged into a million-year-old war for power. He didn't want any of it. He couldn't have any of it on his hands. There he stood, on the edge of a large plateau, overlooking Carbon Canyon, tears of energon running down his faceplate. He wept for what he had lost, what he could not go back to...

"Damn you, Galvatron... Damn you..." He sobbed, clutching the area of his chest where he had mangled the Decepticon insignia they had inscribed on him. The very symbol he had mangled. His tears did not cease to flow. He had barely escaped the abuse and clutches of the Decepticons, the badge they had imprinted on his chest etched, scratched, and worn beyond recognition. He was not going to be part of their conflict. He was no one's pawn. His hand servo clenched into a fist of rage as sadness and despair coursed through his circuits, the feeling going into his very spark. He heard car engines revving through the canyon, seeing the headlights of various models drifting through the corners and hairpins on the road. Street racers. They were always challenging each other in the canyon. Contests of skill. He remembered when he was one of them. When he was human...

How Stripes longed for his lost humanity. Granted, he didn't have much of a life as human street racer. But it was much more than he had now. Back then, he had some acquaintances, a girlfriend he was planning to marry, a crew, a home, even some money. Now, that was all gone. The Decepticons had taken everything from him... Stripes missed all of his human friends, aqaintances: Nikki, Neville, Samuel... He even missed some of his rivals, and Cross! Cross, of all people!

It had been several months since his change to a Cybertronian. Many more months since his last meet up with his old crew in Palmont. Code name: Stickshift. He wondered how they were all doing. His human picture was all over the news: everyone was looking for him since his last encounter with the law. It wasn't pretty. He had to outmaneuver undercover cops in that one. Street racing units. That was when he encountered Galvatron and his faction.

Stripes remembered what happened: Galvatron was charging at him in vehicle mode. His human self was forced to turn the car into an unrecoverable drift, and it rolled the car. Shortly afterwards, Galvatron grabbed him straight out of his own car, the roof torn off after Galvatron had scanned it. They somehow had knocked him out. Either that, or the accident injured him enough that he lost consciousness. The next thing Stripes knew, he woke up like this: A freak of science and nature.

The Decepticons beat him, tried to break him many times over, but Stripes kept his patience as best he could. He waited for an opportunity to escape, and found it. Several weeks ago, he had finally found his was back to Palmont, only to find they had officially declared him dead. He had driven by his grave; A simple headstone decorated with a big block engine engraving, the name reading clear in the stone his human name: Carlos Lopez.

He tuned his radio to a station he usually listened to when he drove. It was playing a song by Linkin Park he recognized: Castle of Glass. At first, it only seemed to deepen his sorrow. But then, he saw a light. A light within his soul, his very being.

"Galvatron..." He whispered. "You took everything from me. But I won't let you control me, as my friends are with me, now and forever. No longer will I be afraid. Somehow, I will find strength, find guidance. Those you send after me will be ashamed, and disgraced. I will not let what you did to me mold me into what you wanted me to become. I will not give up... I will triumph!"


	2. 1: Metal Angel

California

Somewhere along US Route 97

Optimus Prime drove along Route 97, the evergreens of northern California a blur as he passed by them at sixty-five miles per hour. He and Cade Yeager were under some tension since he got back from his attempt at finding the creators. Optimus had no such luck with that trip.

He was coming up on a junkyard located just off the highway. He was going to pass it without thought.

Until he saw an Autobot go flying out of the junkyard and onto the road! Optimus stopped. He didn't recognize this one...

He transformed just as a Decepticon burst out of the junkyard. It was Stinger!

The other Autobot, clearly Stinger's victim, tried to get up, struggling to get on his pedes. Stinger walked up slowly. The Autobot was unable to get up, but kept trying to.

"Stay out of this, Prime!" Stinger warned. "This doesn't concern you!"

"I'd like to decide that for myself." Optimus said, defiant, looking down at the Decepticon, then over to the Autobot on the ground.

"I won't go back..." The Autobot growled, arming one of his weapons, an arm cannon. "I... Won't go back... I won't..."

"What did you do to him, Decepticon?" Optimus demanded.

"I told you this is none of your business, Prime!" Stinger snapped. "Back off! That is Lord Galvatron's property!"

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings!" Optimus stepped in between Stinger and the Autobot. Stinger readied his weapons.

Optimus, in response, readied his own. "Mine are bigger." He replied, confident with the upgrades he received during his trip to hunt down the creators.

The scare tactic worked. "...I will be back, Prime." Stinger took a small shot at the Autobot. It hit him straight in the optics. Stinger then took off.

Optimus then turned his attention to the young Autobot laying on the pavement. It was grinding it's dental bands, failing to hold back sounds of pain. It's servos were clutching at it's destroyed optics, as he thrashed back and forth on the pavement. Optimus deactivated his weapons.

"Take it easy, I'm getting you out of here..." Optimus bent down to pick up the Autobot.

"Don't take me back, I beg you!" The Autobot cried out.

"Relax." Optimus said calmly, taking the blind autobot into his arms. "I'm not taking you back to Galvatron. I'm going to get you help."

"You're… not going to let them take me?" The autobot asked. "...You're not one of them?"

"No." Optimus replied. "Try to relax. I'm going to get you help." Optimus knew if any humans besides Cade saw them near here, they would be in trouble. He sent an urgent email and text to Cade Yeager using his world wide web connection, then he walked off with the autobot into the evergreens.

[Optimus Prime's POV]

I carried the young Autobot away from the roadway as quickly and quietly as I could. I found a spot near an abnormally large tree, with plenty of cover next to a stream. This would do.

The autobot in my arms groaned in pain as I lay him down against the tree. He had been hit hard; dents and cracks were present all across his armor, and it seemed to be a miracle his chassis was still whole. But what tore at me the most was his optics. The poor soul was blind, and guilt nagged at me as to whether or not he would be able to see again as I saw his optics spark and flicker with energy.

"Who are you?" The young autobot asked.

I was surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Tell me who you are..." He asked. "Please... Just get my mind off of the pain..."

I was surprised by this. He didn't know who I was? At this rate, I thought all 'bots and 'cons had heard my name. But there were those back on Cybertron who didn't believe in the war. He must have been one of them.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Last of the Primes." I said, taking one of the autobot's hands. "Who are you?"

It seemed to take the autobot a few moments before he responded. "I... go by... Stripes." The autobot said. "Optimus... thank you for keeping me away from Galvatron..." Stripes was holding my hand tightly, like his life depended on it.

[Stripes' POV]

I couldn't see anything... My vision was as black as night. I was looking into nothing but a void, but my other senses, or in this case, sensors, told me otherwise. I was next to a stream, in some sort of wooded area. Thought I could not see what It looked like, I could hear all the sounds. The birds, the stream...

Then there was what I could feel. Well, what I could feel besides the searing pain that was coursing through my battered robot body. I could feel the ground beneath me; soft soil, the bark of an alpine tree against my back. And my hand... I could feel the fingers of the metal servo that gripped mine. At least I now knew his name; Optimus Prime. Dammit, why did that sound so heroic to me? I admit, between street races, I was a total geek, and part of me always believed in things such as aliens and angels. Now I was with one who was both. Optimus prime... A metal angel, my salvation. At this point, he was like a savior to me. He defended me from Stinger, risked his own life for mine. He didn't take me back to Galvatron, either. Every bit of my being was thankful that he showed up. Though I didn't get a good look at what he looked like when he got between me and Stinger. The sun was blinding, even for the filters in my eyes, but what were they called now... Optics?

"What do you look like?" I asked. "I didn't... get to see what you looked like that well. The sun was blinding me... Then after that... well, you know what happened..."

Again, I was not sure what his face looked like. But he told me, and I was able to grasp every detail: In vehicle mode, he was a hot-rodded custom semi cab, with cold blues, and red flames for a paint job. In robot mode, he was a strong and fierce warrior, and a compassionate leader. I could only imagine how hard that kind of job could be. I reached up with my free servo, tracing my fingers up his arm. Then over what would be his shoulder, and felt his face. From what I could feel, this was a face with lines that would have many stories to tell, and much wisdom to give. Yet it wasn't a vile, hard, and intimidating face like Galvatron's. No, Optimus' face was much more... Gentle. Kind. The kind of face only a loving father would have.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

Optimus' face seemed to sadden a bit, judging by what I could feel. He then started to tell me how he got here with this sentence.

"We came here, searching for the cube..."

[Normal POV]

Some time Later...

Hound and Bumblebee, along with Cade in a semi with a tractor trailer, raced down US 97 towards the coordinates Optimus sent out in his email. Hound was having a hard time processing what was going on. So was Bumblebee. They quickly approached where Optimus was, and slowed down. Hound and Bee then transformed into robot mode, and went off into the evergreens where Optimus was while Cade parked the truck on the shoulder and turned on the hazards.

As Hound and Bee ran up to where Optimus' signal was coming from, they could only guess as to why he needed help; he was a bit vague in his message.

But when they went through the clearing, they clearly saw why; There, next to where Optimus knelt, was a badly injured Autobot. The most serious injury appeared to be inflicted on it's optics; they were badly mangled, as if he had been shot at near point-blank.

"Hold on, Stripes." Optimus told him. "We're going to get you out of here. Take you back to our base." Optimus turned to Hound. "Did Cade bring the truck?"

"He did, boss." Hound replied. "It's got a trailer. We'll get him back in one piece."

"Do you think Cade will be able to repair him?" Optimus asked as Bumblebee and Hound lifted him up medic-style.

"I dunno, boss. But from what I know, if he was able to repair you, I don't think he'll have much trouble. The only thing we'll have to worry about is time." Hound responded as they carried Stripes back to the road.


	3. 2: Recovery

Back at Cade Yeager's barn…

Several hours later...

"Dammit, Optimus Prime! I'm a mechanic, not god's left hand!" Cade snapped as he finished checking up on the damage to Stripes' systems, optics included.

"Listen Carefully, Cade." Optimus said, his voice like razor blades. "Enough of my people have offlined fighting for humans like you. I'm not about to let one more go. Understand?"

Cade seemed to chill out after that, but was still stressed. "I know, Optimus, I know! But this damage is pretty bad! The most extensive damage is with the optics! I can do my best, maybe even bypass his regular optics and give him some sort of infrared vision, but I can't promise anything!"

Those words stung Optimus in the spark. He prayed Cade could get it done.

"Just do your best, Cade..." He said, saddened. Then with a heavy spark, started to walk off to a different part of the barn.

"Optimus..." Stripes said weakly. "Don't leave…"

Optimus turned around and saw liquid energon leaking from just below Stripes' destroyed Optics. Stripes was crying. Optimus watched the liquid ran down his faceplate. Then, came the choked words that rubbed even more salt in the Prime's wounded soul.

"Please… I'm scared…"

Prime sighed, and knelt down where Stripes was laying. Honestly, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to. He wrapped his fingers around one of Stripes' servos.

"Be still, and be brave, soldier." Optimus whispered. "Everything will be fine."

[Stripes POV]

He called me soldier… I don't understand why. But nonetheless, I was glad he didn't leave me alone in this dark, ink-black void. God… I was so scared. Just having him here made the pain seem bearable. In many ways, Optimus was like the father I never had. I grew up in an orphanage, and grew out of the system. I grew up as the kid nobody wanted. No family. Well, except for My best friend, Jack, whom was kinda like family. He took me in after I aged out. Gave me a home, gave me skills I could use... He may not have been the most legit man in the world, though. Planning and running illegal street races wasn't exactly okay to the cops.

Still, it seemed I had a deep connection with Optimus. I could tell just by his voice, that he also carried a deep-rooted pain on his shoulders, like I did. It may not have been the exact same thing, but it was enough. Plus he was so kind, so noble… Nobility was not something I saw in many people growing up.

I could feel the sting of Cade's tools now, as they drilled and cut away damaged parts. My body tensed up, as I ground what would have been my teeth in pain. I could feel a servo pat my shoulder strut, as Optimus calmed me, made me relax. I breathed in and out in shallow breaths. It may have been painful, but Optimus made it much more tolerable.

This "robot sugery" I went though lasted about several hours. Then, there was a bliding light, as my new eyes adjusted to the lighting, and came online.


	4. 3: Enemies from the Past

Rosewood...

City of Rockport...

Clarence Callahan drove through Rockport in his Mustang, still angry about what had happened with Carlos Lopez several months ago. He still was unable to accept he was beaten by that... that punk!

Now he had just found out Carlos was dead, and there was no way to reclaim what was once his! There was no way to get revenge, no way to redeem his pride!

Suddenly, a cop pulled up behind him. A Ford Mustang, the same model as his. Razor would have usually took off, but this time, he pulled over. After all, he was still on probation.

The cop got out of the car, and walked up to Razor's Mustang. He knocked on the window.

Razor rolled down the window. "What did I do, sir?" He asked.

"That isn't as important as what you can do for us, Mr. Callahan." The officer said. "My boss wants to have a word with you."

Razor then saw the figure of the cop flicker, as if it was some sort of projection! He was starting to get bad vibes from this guy.

"Indeed, Mr. Callahan, I am not human. Call me Barricade. I am employed by the government. I'm here to tell you, Carlos Lopez is alive. My boss wants you to find him. If you are interested in this proposition, follow me."

The cop then went back into his car, and started driving away.

Razor immediately followed. He always had a feeling Carlos had cheated death. How could he refuse such an offer?

Palmont City, Carbon Canyon...

Some time later...

Darius drove through his old neighborhood in the Silverton area of Palmont, unsure of what he was even doing here. This was no longer his turf, Carlos or no Carlos. Even though he had beaten him fair and square, the bitter aftertaste of defeat was still strong.

Cross then drove up behind him. They both pulled over and parked their cars.

"What do you want, Croc?" Dairus asked, getting out his phone to check his messages.

"It's Cross, and I think I should be the one asking that." Cross replied.

Darius looked at Cross. "I'm just passing through. No big deal."

That's when two Mustangs drove up. One had a flame pain job, the other was a police unit.

Cross recognized one of them. He found this whole situation a little strange. Why would Razor hang around with a cop?

As Razor got out of his car, follwed by the officer, Dairus remained cool. "Is there a problem, officer?"

"None at all." The officer replied. "We are just the messengers."

Cross raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

Razor then grinned. "How would you like to get revenge on the man who ruined your lives?"

Cade Yeager's Farm...

Stripes was starting to get used to his new life as a Cybertronian. It was all taking some time to get used to. But luckily, not one of the Autobots seemed to notice. Stripes was scared to tell any of them about him once being human, especially Optimus Prime. Because of this, he was very reserved when he talked about his past.

Right now, he was hanging out with Bumblebee and Optimus. It was night, and they were all inside the barn except for Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs. They were outside, stargazing. Things were quiet. Yeager was also in the barn, watching TV on a Projector. A well known street racing movie, "2 Fast 2 Furious" was playing on a rerun. Stripes was absorbed in the movie, considering his love of street racing. So was Bee, as he was fascinated by human culture. Optimus, however, wasn't as absorbed. But he watched it anyway.

"Didn't know you guys were into movies..." Cade Yeager said.

"...Are you kidding?" Stripes said. "Some... Humans may be a little... loopy, but they do have good entertainment, right?" He seemed to have trouble finding his words, as he tread carefully. He was immediately distracted by the movie again. "Oh, man! Did you just see that?! Brian pulled out that car harpoon with just a rag and his hands!"

Bumblebee played a crowd cheer over his radio. He was clearly rooting for Brian.

Stripes then turned to Optimus, smiling. Optimus however, appeared more deep in thought, rather than watching the movie. Stripes' smile faded.

"...Optimus? Is something wrong?" He asked. Bumblebee also looked over, noticing.

Optimus then put on a pained smile. "...Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Just need some air." He got up, and walked out of the barn. Stripes followed.

"Optimus, if something is wrong, you can tell me." Stripes said, thinking it might be him.

Optimus sighed, looking up at the sky. "Primus, So much has been lost over the vorns this war has been fought…" He whispered. "It seems I've failed everyone at this point. I can't even find a place for my people to have a peaceful life..."

Stripes was silent. He looked down at the ground, saddened. He knew he would never fully understand or know Prime's pain. He wanted to help him.

Finally, he stepped in front of Optimus, and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't know what else to do.

"A wise Autobot once told me that it's always darkest before the dawn." Stripes said. "Optimus, you are like a father to me. To us all. Just have faith and hold on. You'll get through this. Don't be afraid, we are all standing beside you."

Optimus was surprised by this. But he didn't shove Stripes away. He accepted the embrace. Afterwards, Stripes let go, patting Optimus on the shoulder strut, and walked back into the barn. He saw Bumblebee at the doorway.

"Bee, please don't mention that to Hound, Crosshairs, or Drift." Stripes said.

Bee made a motion of "zipping the lips." He understood.


	5. 4: Ambush

The next day…

Optimus, Stripes, and the rest of the Autobots were out on a drive. They were still getting used to having Stripes around. Something was bothering Optimus about the new arrival, though. He noticed the young Autobot was extremely reserved when it came to his past. He would never talk about it, and always dodged questions about it relentlessly.  
Finally, Optimus stopped at a canyon. It was time to confront Stripes about this issue. He transformed, and all the others followed suit.

"Stripes, I need to ask you something." Optimus said.

Stripes looked up at Optimus, not liking the feeling that was going through his circuits. "...Yes?"  
"I've noticed you don't like to talk about your past." Optimus stated his observation bluntly. "Whenever it is brought up, you either dodge the question out of existence, or stall until you think we've forgotten about it. Why?"

Stripe's engine ran cold as the words left Optimus' vocalizer. "...Why do you want to know so badly?" Stripes finally asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, we are few in number, and have many enemies." Optimus said coldly. "I've been stabbed in the back many times, even by humans. I don't plan on it happening again."

Stripe's temper heated up at those last two sentences. "You think I will betray you?! What would I have to gain from that? I don't know anyone else except for you and the other Autobots!"

Optimus wasn't backing down. "How do I know that for sure? For all I know, you might be a Decepticon spy, or a new weapon made by the humans who are hunting us!"

This caused everyone in the group to look at Stripes with renewed paranoia, and a wave of doubt.

"Boss has a good point." Hound said. "How do we know you aren't a spy? Or worse?!"  
"Stop it, Hound!" Stripes growled.  
Crosshairs nodded his head in agreement. "It's true. He could be a sleeper agent. Waiting to dismember us when we're in recharge. Or maybe he plans to lead us into an ambush? Or he could be leaking data to the Decepticons of our position?"

"I wouldn't do that!" Stripes snapped, defending his innocence against the onslaught of accusations.

Drift drew one of his swords. "Would you, or wouldn't you? You are a newcomer here, young one, and are not only are you testing Sensei's patience, but the patience of us all as a whole! Star talking, or prepare to defend yourself!"

Just as Drift finished his sentence, weapons fire erupted around them. Everyone dove for cover. Stripes looked out from a rock face, and saw who it was.

The Decepticons were here. In full force.

Galvatron stepped forward, his posture full of command. He then stated clearly so everyone heard.

"STRIPES! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE! IT'S TIME YOU KNEW YOUR SIDE IN THIS CONFLICT! RUN ALL YOU WANT, BUT I WILL FIND YOU! I WILL TRACK YOU NOT ONLY ACROSS THIS PLANET, BUT ACROSS THE COSMOS! NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOU, NOT EVEN OPTIMUS PRIME! YOU ARE MINE, CARLOS LOPEZ! YOU BELONG TO ME!"

Everyone readied their weapons. "What are you going on about, brother?!" Optimus snapped.

"You mean you didn't know?" Another voice chuckled. "Kid Bimmer over there wasn't an Autobot to begin with… He used to be a human. You've been fooled, Prime."

More soldiers appeared from behind Galvatron. One looked like he changed into a hot-rodded mustang with flames, looking similar to Barricade. The next looked like it changed into an Audi-R8, colored Crimson Red. And the third had the look of a Corvette.

"Who the hell are you?!" Stripes snapped.

"Oh, you should know us." The R8 pipped. "But it looks like we'll to spell it out of for you." The R8 motioned to the Mustang, and they each spoke haunting words.

"1: Bolt-on wonderboy is about to get smoked." The Mustang said

"2: Street Racing in Rockport is finished." The corvette said proudly.

"Finally, 3: I gave Nikki everything that you couldn't." The R8 finished.  
Stripes froze as those words were spoken. He knew who they were. It was Razor, Dairus, and Cross! Stripes looked over to Optimus, fear pulsating through him. Optimus was staring right back into his optics. He didn't look pleased.


	6. 5: Loyalty

"My demands are simple, Stripes." Galvatron said. "Surrender to me, and I won't crush the Autobots like the insects they are! I may even let you work your way up in rank..."

Stripes was still afraid, but knew he had no choice but to face this menace. He hoped the Autobots would support him, despite their doubts. Stripes could feel Optimus' scorn in the look he was giving him.

"That's a tempting offer. Very tempting, I'll admit." Stripes said with a hint of sarcasm. "But I've got a better one: How about I give you 'the finger' and we fight this out to the death?" He raised his left servo above the rock face temporarily, giving an offensive, provocative hand gesture.

"Oh, so unwise..." Megatron sighed. "MEN! BRING ME THE RUNAWAY! KILL THE REST!"

Stripes popped out of cover, unleashing a hellfire with his arm cannon. Optimus and the others followed suit. The battle was on.

Cross did an air flip, and went into vehicle mode, dodging the projectiles heading towards him. Dairus dove into cover from where he stood, and returned fire. Razor just stood in place, his armor absorbing the damage, and let loose with his own weapons: multi-barreled machine guns built into his hands.

Stripes managed to pull off several head-shots off on Stinger and Junkheap. Stinger went down quite easily, since the shots took off his head. He saw Cross heading towards him. In response, he transformed, and peeled out. It was just like the old days when Cross would chase him.

Almost.

Hound took to a higher area in the canyon and began sniping at several of the Traxes mechs that Galvatron had brought with him. They were currently preoccupied with surrounding and shooting Drift. In response, Drift lashed out with his swords, while Hound fired from long-range. Their combined efforts totaled the Traxes.

Bumblebee covered Optimus while he charged Galvatron, sword in hand. He stabbed Galvatron in the chest, but it didn't have much of an effect on the deranged Decepticon leader. Nor did the sword go very deep, either.

"That tickles, Prime." Galvatron cackled. "Quite pathetic, actually." He grabbed the sword, and spun around, sending Optimus flying into a cliff face.

Stripes noticed this on his sensors, and did a one-eighty turn, heading back to Optimus' side open-throttle. Bumblebee managed to shoot the ground between Cross and Stripes, leaving a gaping crater which stopped Cross in his tracks, then went to give Crosshairs a hand with Dairus.

Galvatron walked up to Optimus, whom slid down from the indent he left in the cliff. He picked up the Prime by the neck, slamming him into the cliff once again, his energon blades extended.

"Any last requests, Prime?" Galvatron snickered, his grip tightening around the Prime's neck, starting to crush his main intake.

"...Why?" Optimus wheezed. "Why do you torture him by making him one of us?! He's a human! Nothing more!"

"Oh, Dear brother…" Galvatron chuckled. "You have no idea how wrong you are… He never was human. He is the descendant of our creator. He is the Son of Primus, and I have proof of it. Great plans I have for that one. Sadly, you won't live to see them come to fruition. Oh, how I've looked forward to this day… The day the last prime dies by my hand!"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Stripes screamed, Transforming and leaping onto Galvatron's back, stabbing him with his own energon blade multiple times, aiming for his optics. Galvatron quickly released Optimus and thrashed around, trying to get Stripes off his back, but he wouldn't let go! Stripes stabbed and slashed at Galvatron's head and torso, leaving about fifteen to sixteen marks and wounds on him before Galvatron managed to throw him off! Nonetheless, Galvatron was now blind! His optics shattered!

Stripes flipped, and landed on his feet before taking off again. Optimus did the same, taking off with his jets, then getting on the road, transforming into vehicle mode. The other Autobots followed suit as they made their getaway.


	7. 6: Father Figure

Back at the farm…

Optimus was not happy as he walked in front of Stripes behind the barn. At the moment, he was like an angry father scolding a teenager whom had just done something dangerous. The rest of the group were out front, keeping watch.

"Why?" Optimus demanded. "Why didn't you tell us he did that to you?"  
"I didn't know what you would do… I was afraid..." Stripes stumbled over his words. He already had enough going through his circuits. Any more and he felt he would go off the deep end or explode.

"Afraid?!" Optimus was furious. "That's your excuse?! Fear?!"

"I didn't know what else to do, okay?!" Stripes yelled back angrily. "I know you want _some_ sort of explanation, Optimus, but be realistic! I've been chased by cops, wrecked my car, been abducted by a giant robot alien, then got turned into one! I've been tortured, beaten, starved of fuel, and locked up in small rooms with barely enough room to breathe! I was clubbed, chased halfway across the western United States, I've been shot, and shot at..." Stripes' optics started leaking again. "...I even had to watch and attend my funeral! My own _fueneral_ , dammit!" The words chocked out of his vocalizer as he turned away from Optimus. "I couldn't say anything to the people I knew, the people I cared about…" He sobbed. "I couldn't even comfort the woman I _loved_! All I could do is watch her weep! And there was _nothing I could do! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT HURTS!_ " He started to rapidly slam his fists into a nearby tree in a fit of rage. Then he activated his energon blade.

Optimus' response was automatic. He ran forward and grabbed Stripes, trying to pin his servos behind his back. This ended up badly. It turned into a wrestling match for a few minutes, as they rolled and tumbled around in the field behind Cade's barn. Eventually, though, it stopped with Optimus pinning Stripes, pointing one of his guns at his head. Again, it was a reflex. A reflex Optimus felt guilty for not being able to control. Too many battles, combined with Optimus' own paranoia of humans and the recent battles still fresh in his mind had led to such reactions. Not to mention his now itchy trigger finger. Nonetheless, as he stared down at the Cybertronian below him, he knew he wouldn't fire. He felt for this… Former human. Despite his recklessness, fear, and now obvious temper.

Cade and the Autobots heard and saw the commotion. They were surrounding Optimus and Stripes, whom lost his blind rage, and had broken down into sobs and gibberish. Optimus slowly, and cautiously released his grip on Stripes' servos, getting up. He watched as Stripes lay in the dirt, fluid now running from his optics and onto the ground, crying. He watched as the sobs from the converted autobot coursed through his chassis. His intakes cycled feverishly, like he was not able to get enough air into his systems.

"I understand that you are hurting and confused." Optimus said firmly, his blaster retracting back into his servo. "But I won't have you harming me, or anyone else here. Please, control your temper. Calm down." He keeled down next to Stripes, and proceeded to calm the distraught Autobot.

Right now, Optimus wished Ratchet was still with them. He'd know what to do better than he would…


	8. 7: Lockdown's Return

Darkness… All he could see for a few moments was darkness. The a voice.

"Your task is not yet complete, Lockdown. Optimus may have defeated you..."

Suddenly, his vision was flooded with light.

"...But he has not destroyed you..."

He felt his body suddenly come together, as if he was being rebuilt! Reborn! His vision cleared. He was at the same spot where Optimus defeated him. The creators had revived him.

"...You shall go forth, and bring us the Last Prime. However, there is also another with him that we also desire. The Kin of Primus, our enemy, also now resides with Optimus Prime on this planet. Bring us both of them, and let nothing stand in your way. Not even that foolish imbecile, Galvatron."

Lockdown looked to the sky. "As you wish. I shall bring you both the Last Prime and Primus' Kin..."

He transformed into vehicle mode, and drove off.

Meanwhile, in a forest far from Cade Yeager's farm…

It had been two days since Stripes' past was revealed. Optimus and Stripes had just arrived at the area where the Prime had hidden Lockdown's old spaceship. It was raining, and cold. Two things Stripes hated. Other than that, their drive had been very quiet. But then again, the past couple of days had been quiet, as Stripes had isolated himself in the barn. Stripes had no idea why Optimus was bringing him here, into this damp, forested canyon.

When they reached a large cliff face, they transformed to robot mode.

It was then that Stripes broke the silence. "...Optimus, what are we doing here?"

Optimus ran his hand along the cliff face, and found what he was looking for: A hidden panel. He pressed it, and a section of the wall disappeared, as if it vaporized! Or was it even there to begin with?

"This section of the cliff is a hologram. To keep others away and unaware." Optimus explained. "Come." He went in, motioning for Stripes to follow.

Stipes walked in, uneasy about the whole thing. He was expecting some sort of dark cave at first.

What he got was unlike anything he had imagined! Technology beyond his wildest imaginings! Bright lights, unknown metal structures, the works!

"Stay close." Optimus cautioned. "This ship is a lot bigger than it seems."

"Ship?" Stripes asked. "As in… Starship?"

Optimus nodded. "Follow me."

Stripes followed closely. After a bit, they came across a room with a pillar of swords. Optimus stood near some sort of container on the wall. He opened it up, and fished something out of it.

"Brace yourself." Optimus warned. "This will be… Rather disturbing to see."

He fished something out of the container, and turned to face Stripes. In his hand, was a partially-melted Cybertronian head!

"Augh!" Stripes stumbled backwards in shock. "Is that… Is that what I think it is?"

A nod from Optimus was all Stripes needed. "He was our medic. His name was Ratchet... Humans did this to him. They butchered him to revive the Decepticons. Whether out of greed or deception, I do not know." Optimus was struggling to keep his rage under control, showing hints of it in his tone. "I want you to remember this. Not for vengeance, shame, or punishment… But to remind you how fragile life itself can be. How easily it can be taken away..."

Optimus put Ratchet's head in Stripes hands. All Stripes could do was stare at it in shock. One sentence escaped his vocalizer.

"...Why?" Stripes ran his fingers across the remains. "Why does the universe have to be like this?"  
Unbeknownst to Stripes, something was awakening within him, and Optimus could clearly see it. For his optics had changed from their usual violet hue, to a bright sunburst gold.


	9. 8: The Past

The Past

Two days later…

Military base…

Dairus was starting to have second thoughts, considering the information he had come across in the base's computers. He himself was having some trouble processing it, let along believing it. One thing, however, he now knew: If Galvatron got his hold on Stripes, it would mean disaster. For everyone, and everything.

He left the base, on the rouse of going on recon. He transformed to vehicle mode, and took off to the one place he knew Stripes would be.

He only hoped he wouldn't be too late. For Galvatron was already leading an attack force to his location...

Later, back on the farm…

Hound sat with Crosshairs, Bumblebee, and Drift, watching the barn like a hawk. Optimus had been in there with Stripes. He was wondering what they were doing in there. He had not heard so much as a peep from the barn. What was going on?

"I don't like this." Drift stated bluntly, sitting next to Hound.

"What? Meditation envy?" Crosshairs said with a smirk.

"Why don't you go sit on a rocket?" Drift retorted in a cranky tone.

Crosshairs shrugged his servos. "Just what is your problem?"

"The new guy." Drift said. "I do not trust him, nor do I see why Sensei does. That infuriates me..."

Crosshairs sighed. "I wouldn't argue with that. He has ruffled… a few feathers here and there. But I'm sure Optimus has a good reason for doing… whatever he is doing in there."

"Relax your limbs. Breathe, and focus." Optimus said. "Keep your optics off."

Stripes did as he was told as they sat in the middle of the barn in meditation. Things were quiet, serene. He felt cam, collected. Like he could go anywhere at this point, and still be here in the barn.

He liked that feeling.

"Now, focus on yourself. Think of your past; The things you do remember..."

Stripes started to think back through his life. "I remember Nikki. She was… more than just a good friend. I can see us out on dates in the city of Palmont. I remember Jack… When he first taught me to race, to drive. He was my friend in and out of the old orphanage. I remember when I first got into that place… Wait…" Stripes suddenly started to remember more things. Things he didn't even know about!

"Optimus... I see something else… A baby crying in a basket… Taken in by the nuns... Stars… I almost feel like I can reach them. Almost… One star calls out to me… It shines it's light… It yearns to me, thrilling, yet terrifying at the same time... Should I dive deeper and follow it?"

"Do so." Optimus said. "Follow that star, and tell me more of what you see."

Stripes dove deeper. "I see a planet… A planet... of metal! Covered in strange looking buildings… They look so familiar, yet so distant… There is… Oh god!" Stripes saw the planet was on it's last legs, it's inhabitants in the last cycle of a long, cold, devastating war. A war that had extinguished the planet! And then he saw the face of his enemy! Galvatron, letting out a roar of frustration!

"Cybertron..." He whispered. His spark started to race. "No, this isn't right… This isn't right!"

"Don't be afraid." Optimus encouraged. "Continue. Tell me what you are seeing."

"Cybertron. It's dead…" Stripes felt horrible. "Galvatron is there. He is searching for something… Somthing in the rubble... Searching for..."

It then clicked. Stripes' optics shot online in an instant.

"He's looking for me!" Stripes blurted, getting up. "He's looking for me... It's because I can revive Cybertron, isn't it?"

Right after those words left Stripes' vocalizer, explosions were heard outside. The barn shook.

"Optimus!" Hound cried. "We're under attack!"

Stripes and Optimus ran outside. There was gunfire, and the Decepticons were already swarming over the farm.


	10. 9: Arrival

There was little time to react. Stripes took cover, opening fire, while Optimus charged in, sword in hand. He dove in at Galvatron, they deadlocked, and another fight began.

Stripes got up, moving in and out of the little barriers he had, covering Optimus from enemy fire.

He didn't see Razor until the last minute. Stripes burst into a roll as Razor's arm blade barely missed, the edge running along Stripes' servo, scratching the paint. He then got back on his feet pedes and flew into a sprint, Razor firing potshots at him.

"Come on, wonderboy! Face me like a real fighting robot!" Razor taunted.

Stripes changed to vehicle mode, and floored the gas. He went into the field, drifting through the dirt as he avoided the gunfire.

That's when the sky started to darken. Thick clouds hovered overhead. Then, something emerged from them! It was the ship that Optimus showed Stripes two days ago! Next, the entire area was blasted by gusting winds, which blanketed the whole farm in a fog.

"What in the name of Primus...? Oh, no that's impossible!" Hound said. Even Optimus and Galvatron was temporarily distracted.

Distracted enough that something fired at both of them. Explosive shell rounds pierced both Galvatron and Optimus in their chest cavities, barely missing Optimus' spark chamber.

Stripes watched as a new Autobot, or Decepticon, with a gun for a head, emerge from the cloudy mess of fog into view. Optimus fell over, the exploding round severely damaging him. Galvatron, getting his bearings, tried to lunge at the new arrival. He didn't succeed. The new 'bot just fired several more rounds. Galvatron's left servo was torn clean off from the bullet's impact. His legs were also mangled. The new 'bot's head then changed from a gun, to a robotic face with green eyes.

"Foolish fool..." The 'bot sighed. "I thought by now, he would have learned that the creators have, how do the humans say it? Called 'dibs'?" He walked up to Optimus, kneeling next to him. "I must thank you for preserving my ship. It makes my job a lot easier, Prime."

"Lockdown... How...?" Optimus managed to ask, while gagging on his own Energon.

"Me and my employers have our tricks, just as you do." Lockdown stated. With that, the netting drone deployed from the ship.

"He's trying to capture Optimus!" Hound yelled, rallying the other Autobots to go after Lockdown. They prepared to open fire, when the drone shot several pellet-like spheres into the ground. They ignited with a bright blue lights, forming a field around the Autobots and remaining Decepticons! They stood frozen! All except for Stripes.

"Slag... it!" Hound said. "Stasis field...!"

"Now nothing stands in my way." Lockdown purred. He looked over to Stripes, whom had his arm cannon ready.

"I won't let you take him!" Stripes snarled.

Lockdown, in response, laughed. "You think I came all this way just for him? No, Primus' Kin, my employers also want _you!_ " He pointed at Stripes.

"RUN, KID!" Hound yelled. "TAKE OUT THE DRONE!"

Stripes charged Lockdown as he changed his head back to gun mode. As Lockdown fired, Stripes dropped to his knees, sliding across the ground! He dodged the bullet! Then, pulling his legs out from under him, proceeded to slide-tackle Lockdown. He fell to the ground face-first, barely changing his head back in time before hitting the ground.

Stripes used his remaining momentum to flip over and force himself up on his pedes into a run. He ran over to Optimus, aiming at the drone above him. Stripes took the shot, disabling the drone's engines. It crashed into the field. By the time he got over to The Prime, he was on the verge of stasis.

"Optimus, Get up! Come on, get up!" Stripes begged, pulling on his shoulders.

"I... can't." Optimus said weakly. "Get out of here..."

Stripes looked over his shoulder. Lockdown was getting up. He turned back to Optimus.

"Dammit, Prime! I'm not leaving you!" Stripes snapped, struggling in futility to lift Optimus' battered body. "GET... UP!" He strained.

Lockdown was now looking in Stripes direction, on both pedes. He started to walk over, relishing the moment and the scene of Stripes trying to lift the much heavier prime. "You really think you can save him, don't you? Sad, you can't even save yourself. The creators have plans for you. They gave me a simple order: Bring you in by any means necessary. You must be quite special to them..."

At that moment, a red Audi R8 burst through the fog at full speed! It was Dairus!

"Oh, no you don't!" Dairus cried out. He transformed, leaped through the air, and drop-kicked Lockdown in the back, sending him flipping over several times! Dairus then proceeded to run up to Stripes and started to pull him away.

"Come on! We've got to get you out of here..."

Razor watched on with anger. "How DARE YOU?!"

Dairus gave Razor a look of irritation. "Deal with it. I'm going with the home team." His faceplates put on a cocky sneer.

"Dairus?!" Stripes exclaimed. "What..? Why…?! Never mind! If you really are here to help, then grab his other arm! I can't lift him alone!"

"Kid, he's a semi cab!" Dairus snapped, pulling on Stripes servo. "He weighs over _two tons_! We can't lift him together, even if we tried! We have to leave him! There's no other way!"

Stripes then looked over to the other frozen Autobots. They couldn't lift Prime on their own, but if the stronger mechs pitched in… He quickly shot a look at the stasis-field emitters the drone shot down a short while ago… They were the only things stopping them from assisting!

Stripes got up, and shot the stasis emitters with his arm cannon. The spheres shattered like glass. The field around the other Autobots dissipated, and they all sprinted forward.

Unfortunately, that also released Razor, and he was in a fury. He charged forwards, machine guns ablaze.

Dairus dragged Stripes down to the ground, activating his arm-mounted sniper rifle. A few well-placed shots from it hit one of Razor's ped joints. He fell over, grasping at the mechanical wounds the rifle left.

Lockdown had just recovered his senses, but was now pinned by Hound, whom proceeded to scramble his joint motor circuits.

"I believe the human expression is, 'Nope'?" Hound then got up and walked over to Optimus and Stripes. So far, the threat seemed subdued. Things were quiet for a few moments.

Dairus then broke the silence. "What are you just standing there for?! We've gotta _move_!"

"What's the big hurry?" Crosshairs asked.

Dairus shook his head. "We've got to _go_! If we stick around here for much longer, Galvatron will be counted as a no-show back at the base! They will deploy Sheriff Cross and his reinforcement squad!"

Stripes raced to think of a way they could transport Optimus. He turned over to the house, calling Cade's number.

"Cade, get the semi and bring it out front! Now!"


	11. 10: Primus's Blessing

It had been several hours since the attack on the barn. Right now, it was night. Cade had taken Tess with him in the semi. Shane insisted on going with, since Tess was "his girlfriend" and he wasn't about to let anything happen to her.

Finally, they stopped at an abandoned way station on a desert road. Hound scanned the building. Everything in it still worked, and the plumbing still worked. That would be good for the humans. The autobots changed to robot mode, stretching their servos.

"I'll scout around the area with Bee." Hound said. "You guys set up camp."

With that, they took off.

Stripes went over and opened the Semi's trailer, worried about Optimus.

"...Holding together, big guy?" Stripes asked. Optimus nodded.

That's when a hand grabbed Stripes by the shoulder and threw him away from the trailer and into the ground!  
Stripes barely had time to look up when he saw who it was! It was Drift, and He was pissed off! He slammed the trailer shut, locking Optimus in!

"ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU!" He roared, storming over and stomping down on Stripes' chassis. "SENSEI IS DAMAGED, WE NOW HAVE NO HOME, AND LOCKDOWN IS NOW CHASING US! WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU IN!"

With that, he proceeded to start beating mercilessly on Stripes!

"Drift! Stop!" Dairus ran forward, only to be stopped by Crosshairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Crosshairs snarled, ensnaring Dairus in a headlock. "Stay out of it!"

"Let me go! You can't let him do this..!"

"Why not?" Crosshairs said. "After all that's happened, I think it's time Stripes had a dose of reality. Normally, me and Drift don't agree on anything, but I'll make an exception for this!"

All Dairus could do was watch as Stripes was pummeled. Howls of pain tore from his vocalizer.

Then, Drift stopped for a moment. Stripes let out yells of pain, holding his side, where the dents were most severe. Drift then grabbed an exposed rebar from the building, tearing it out of the concrete! Then, he resumed his feral beating! Stripes Yells started to subside, as energon started to leak from his limp body.

"DRIFT, STOP IT!" Dairus cried out, struggled to get free of Crosshair's grip. "STOP IT! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"

Drift then raised the Rebar over his head for one last fatal blow.

Then a miracle happened.

There was a bright flare of light, blinding everyone.

In it's place, standing over Stripes, right across from Drift, was an Autobot. An Autobot all of them knew.

Alpha Trion. His frame was ablaze with a bright glow, his eyes filled with righteous fury. He looked deep into Drift's optics, whom dropped the rebar. There was a long silence.

"Why are you senselessly beating the only hope you have of salvation?" He asked.

"I-I...I..." Drift struggled to come up with an explaination. He and Crosshairs dropped to their knees.

Alpha Trion's faceplates displayed a scowl. "The Kin of Primus has been brought forth to bring you salvation from this horrid war. Your reckless abandon nearly caused such sin that would have damned all of our kind."

He then raised a hand over Stripes' body, showering him with a bright light. Once the light dissipated, Stripes was still there. Only his damage was gone!

"Have faith in him, as well as yourselves. Our future depends on it..."

With that, the light faded, and Alpha Trion disappeared.


	12. 11: Elita-One

It had been several minutes since Alpha Trion's sudden appearance. Everyone was silent, rooted to their spots, unsure of what to do, what to say…

That silence was broken by Optimus slamming his hand on the door to the trailer.

"What's going on out there?!" He demanded. "Someone open this door!"

Crosshairs went over and opened it. "Everything's okay, Optimus… I think."

Stripes proceeded to get up off the ground. Drift only watched with mixed emotions running through his circuits. What did I nearly do? He asked himself. Was it all just blind rage? Or was it something else?

Dairus went forwards, over to Stripes' side. "You're okay! But how…? What was that? A robot angel?"

"...I don't know. I guess all that is important is that I'm okay." Stripes said, still shaken. He then started to walk away, towards the road.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Crosshairs asked.

"For a drive." Stripes said. Crosshairs stepped forward into arms distance, and Stipes popped out his blaster.

" _Don't_ Touch Me." Stripes said flatly. Crosshairs didn't argue. He just stepped back. Stripes then went to vehicle mode, and peeled off down the road, his engine revving high as he went through his gears.

# # # # # #

As Stripes drove down the road, he slowed his speed. He felt betrayed, afraid and confused. Drift nearly killed me! He thought. _Killed_ me! Am I sure on the right side? Who can I trust anymore?

...Am I just a tool of war, and nothing else? That last thought reverberated through his entire being.

He started to enter a canyon, when he was passed by another car. A Porsche 911 Carerra S, colored Bubblegum pink with white racing stripes. The thing that intrigued Stripes, is that before it passed, it flashed it's high-beams at him. Then it just drove in front of him tauntingly, as if saying "mind goin' all out for lil' old me?"

Stripes was not stupid. His knowledge of racing stated the obvious about this car. It wanted to race.

Why not? He figured. It would at least get his mind off of present troubles for a while. He downshifted, and gunned his engine.

The Porsche's response was swift. It went into an open-throttle state as they went though the canyon. The driver was obviously skilled, as well as having knowledge of the road. For Stripes was having trouble trying to pass! Every time he thought he had a clear line, the road bent in an unusual way, and he was forced to break hard, losing ground! Then he had to push himself to catch up!

Finally, near the top of the canyon, The Porsche pulled over at an empty lookout venue. Stripes did as well.

Shortly afterward, the Porsche transformed! And it wasn't just any Transformer! This one was female! Stripes could tell by her robotic 'curves' and her chassis design!

"Aren't you going to change modes too?" The femme asked. Stripes was uneasy, but didn't sense any hostility from this mech. So he transformed.

"Nice driving." She said. "Need to work on those hairpin slides, but other than that, not bad."

"...Thanks." Stripes said. "So, you are..."

"Call me Elita." She said. "And you?"

"...Stripes. So, Elita, what are you doing all the way out here?"

Elita sighed. "You could say, I'm trying to forget. It's been a long time since the war. Last I heard, humans were hunting us. Now, everything is terribly quiet… The long drives also help me not miss my bond mate as much."

Stripes nodded. "I see. Was he a deadbeat, or a Decepticon?"

Eilta looked up at the moon. "Surprisingly, neither. We were separated more by the war than anything else. He left Cybertron before it was rendered uninhabitable. He was searching for the cube..."

Stripes optics widened. "You don't mean Optimus Prime, do you?"

Elita looked at Stripes, surprised. "How did you guess?"

Stripes looked over the railing. It would be daylight soon. He turned to Elita.

"….What if I told you I knew where you can find him?"

Elita sighed. "Doubtful. We just met and I'm not sure I can trust you, with all the circumstances, no offense sweetheart..."

Stripes had a feeling he'd have to present some sort of proof. He quickly activated his radio, channeling Elita in to listen.

"Stripes calling Autobots, come in Autobots…"

There was static, then the voice Stripes wanted to hear

"Stripes, this is Optimus Prime. What is it?"

Elita was instantly overjoyed.


	13. 12: Ratchet

30 Minutes after meeting Elita… 

Stripes had guided Elita back to the other Autobots. They were quite surprised to see her. Optimus was the most surprised of all. As they started to catch up, Optimus explaining the current situation, Stripes went over to the other side of the rest stop. He sat down, and looked at the starlit sky, a wave of depression washing over him like ocean waves. He took out what remined of Ratchet's head, and looked it over.

He was glad he had reunited Optimus with what he assumed was his significant other, but at the same time, he felt he had not done enough. Then there was the misery of not being able to see his own significant again…

"Nikki." He sighed, looking up at the full moon, standing up. His eyes started to glow gold again. At least she would hopefully be safe, and not be involved in this conflict.

That single bright thought triggered a few more. The glow in his eyes started to intensify, and he lost touch with reality.

Dust began to rise around him in a wind. At first it was a gentle breeze. Then it was a powerful gust. It soon became a dust devil. Stripes let go of Ratchet's skull, and it flew into the epicenter! Rocks and bits of trash from around the rest stop flew into the funnel, and transmuted to metal! The gust turned into a gale, and had caught the other Autobot's attention by this point. They watched in awe! The, the wind died down, and standing in the place of the dust devil, was Ratchet! Alive, and well!

The glow faded from Stripes' optics. He suddenly felt drained, and would have fallen over if Ratchet did not catch him!

Ratchet was confused for a moment, looking around at everything and everyone, just as shocked as they were. "…For the love of Primus, what the slag is going on!?"

# # # # # # # # #

Stripes was sitting in a dark place, a light shining over him. He was so tired. He could not remember why, though.

A voice called out to him. "Carlos..."

Stripes looked up. Nikki was standing in front of him. For some reason, they were the same height.

"Nikki." Stripes took her hand, as she helped him up. "...I miss you."

"I know." Nikki replied. "Just don't give up. We'll see each other again. Have faith..."

"It's hard, Nikki." Stripe said, holding her close to him in his servos. "They don't trust me..."

"...And you do not trust yourself." Nikki replied as Stripes released her. "Quit doubting yourself. That's always been your biggest flaw. You doubt yourself too much. Well, except when you are angry. So don't tear yourself down. You can do this. You were chosen to do this by Primus himself. Now wake up. The others need you."

Stripes looked at her for a moment. How did she know about Primus?!

Nikki then lost her patience. "I said _wake up_!"

The next thing Stripes knew, her backhand was heading for his face!

# # # # # #

Stripes awoke with a loud smack across his face!

"OW!" He yelled. He opened his eyes, one hand over his faceplates and everyone was gathered around him.

"See?" Crosshairs said. "All he needed was a few whacks for a jump-start. It always works."

Ratchet face-palmed at that sentence. "Away for a few months, and _this_ is what you call medical procedures? A smack in the faceplates is now a 'jump-start'?"

Crosshairs shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Ratchet sighed. "Don't go anywhere, young bot." He said, pointing at Stripes. "Once I finish my examination and repairs of Optimus, you are going to be next. So don't go taking off!"


	14. 13: Thinking Process

After Several hours...

Stripes waited while Ratchet examined him. His arm had changed into some sort of scanning tool. He was running it over Stripes' Chassis.

"Hmm… From what my scanners say, you are in tip-top shape, despite what others have told me what's happened to you. I'll need to go over a psychological test with you later. I have a feeling you've got Sudden Spark Syndrome..."

Stripes looked at the medic with shock. "What the hell kind of robot disease is that?"

Ratchet sighed. "It's not anything life-threatening. It's just when… How can I explain this..." He searched the internet for similarities. "The closest equivalent in human terms is 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder', and as I said before, it's just a feeling."

Stripes heaved out a depressed sigh. He walked over to the semi trailer, sitting down near the end. Optimus and Elita were laying in the trailer side by side catching up with each other. Ratchet insisted Optimus shouldn't be moved for a few days at the least, saying he needed to run a few more tests on him. So they were basically stuck here for a while.

Nikki popped back into Stripes' mind. He was still thinking about her, even after the dream. He looked up at the night sky again, the full moon shining it's weak rays down on the earth, lightly illuminating the outlines of the desert.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Stripes turned to see Dairus walked up and sat down beside him. "You must be thinking hard about something. I can tell."

Stripes smiled. "Really? What makes you think that?"

Dairus laughed. "Carlos, Come on, man! It's written in that look you have on your face! I could spot that look even when you were human, hanging out with Jackie Rourke!"

"You mean 'Jack' Rourke." Stripes corrected. He hated it when Dairus referred to his best friend as Jackie. He thought it sounded too much like a girl's name. Dairus however, disagreed. "Anyways, you are right. I am thinking hard about something. Or someone, in this case..."

Dairus sighed. "Its Nikki, isn't it? Look, if this is about what I said..."

"It isn't." Stripes replied. "...I'm just wondering how she's doing at the moment. I was at the funeral they held for me…"  
Dairus looked at Stripes with a puzzled look. "You mean nobody saw you? Nobody saw the giant robot walking arou..."

"I was in vehicle mode, you dodo." Stripes said with a deadpan.

"...Oh. Right." Dairus tried to cover up his err by looking up at the sky and acting like the words never left his vocalizer.

Stripes continued. "…Just Wish I could have told her 'I'm right here, you don't need to cry.' I wanted so bad to comfort her, tell her everything was alright. Of course, I couldn't do that, because of the obvious."

Dairus sighed. "Yep. Then I had to make it worse by accepting that offer from that 'Mustang Cop' that Razor introduced me and Cross to. I didn't even think twice about it, or even think, 'hey, is this reversible?' But I guess that was my choice, so now I have to live with it, nyeh..." He grumbled.

"Look on the bright side, mate." Crosshairs said. "If you didn't go through 'the change' you wouldn't have been there to help us against Lockdown."

Dairus turned to Crosshairs, irritated. He felt like saying something sarcastic, considering what Crossharis and Drift did earlier. Then he stopped himself, and re-processed what would come out of his vocalizer. "...That's a good point, I guess."

It then hit Ratchet. "Wait a minute! Did you say, 'Mustang Cop?' "


	15. 14: Galvatron's New Captive

Dairus looked at Ratchet. "...Yeah, that's what I said."

Drift growled. "Barricade..."

Stripes raised an optic. "You know this cop?"

Drift nodded. "He's no cop. He's a decepticon."

"Figures." Stripes rolled his optics. "Should have known..."

They sat in silence for a while, Stripes stretched out on the ground, gazing up at the sky. Then he closed his optics, slipping away under the blanket of recharge.

# # # # # # #

Stripes awoke several hours later to some odd noise going through his audio receivers. He sat up, and looked around. Everyone else seemed in recharge. No one else registered on his optics. Not even his radar and motion sensors seemed to be picking up anything out of the ordinary. Yet the sound persisted. As if it was calling him. It was not an unpleasant noise, though. However, it seemed hypnotic in a way.

Finally, Stripes could not ignore it anymore. He got up, and started to slowly creep towards the noise. He readied his blaster, fear going through him. The noise converged around a rock face. He got up against the wall, peeking around the corner.

There was some sort of box there, emitting the sound. But that's not what freaked Stripes out. Engraved on the wall of the canyon were two words:

 _Surprise dimwit_

Stripes ran away from the cliff face moments before the box exploded. He dove for the ground, covering his head as the explosion tossed rubble in every direction. He looked up, as everyone snapped out of recharge.

The Decepticons were charging straight at them! Only Galvatron wasn't there!

"Shit!" Stripes cursed. He opened fire, as did the others, but they ignored Stripes's shots. What was going on?

His answer was them going for the tractor trailer!

"OPTIMUS!" Stripes yelled. He charged forward, as they tore the traier apart. But Optimus Prime was not inside.

"What?!" Crosshairs exclaimed. Optimus and Elita then descended from the sky, thier jets burning the ground as they landed. Their cannons charged.

"You've made a grave mistake. Be gone!" Optimus fired on them, taking out a few, Elita doing the same. Stripes started running up, giving covering fire to the prime and Elita.

Razor popped into Stripes's field of view, in between him and Optimus. "Not this time, wonderboy!" His servos' digits changed into barrels. They were multi-barreled rapid-fire lasers!

Stripes got behind a rock, firing his blaster cannon at Razor. That's when he saw it.

Lockdown was phasing into view behind Optimus! It was as if he was invisible one moment, then visible the next! Like cloaking on Star Trek! But that was just the tip of the 'berg! Lockdown had a short spear in his hand, ready to stab Optimus!

"OPTIMUS!" Stripes cried out. But it was too late. Lockdown plunged the spear into Optimus' chassis, the other end bursting out through his chest, missing his spark chamber by Milimeters! The Prime cried out in pain as the spear tore through his recovering body and chassis, Lockdown putting him in a headlock!

"Galvatron sends you this ultimatum, Wonderboy!" Razor sneered. "Meet him on top of Eternity Pass in Carbon Canyon, two weeks from now! Or the so-called prime will end up getting scrapped!"

Lockdown's ship appeared over the horizon! The Decepticons were surrounding Optimus and Lockdown! Stripes ran forward, trying to reach Optimus in time, but two cables from the ship was already lifting them inside the craft! Stripes fought through the Decepticons, the Autobots right behind him!

"LET HIM GO!" Stripes jumped off one of the Decepticons as they dispersed, leaped up in the air as they rose, reaching out to Grab one of Optimus' servos! He reached as far as he could, trying to grab on, to save Optimus from this fate…

But he missed, only scratching the digits of his hand, doing little but scraping paint off. Lockdown shot Stripes with his free arm cannon, and Stripes fell down to earth. The impact was hard, raising a cloud of dust.

"If you truly are the Primus' kin, you will meet with Galvatron. It is your destiny, after all." Lockdown said, throwing a katana-like saber down, along with Prime's own sword at Stripes' feet as he and Optimus were pulled inside the craft. It then took off, speeding through the sky.

The Decepticons finished dispersing after the craft left. Stripes got up, trying to run after the craft, but it was futile. His left leg strut got damaged in the fall. He collapsed to his knees, intakes cycling like mad. Stripes started to pound the ground with his fists. Slowly at first, then rapidly increasing pace. He let out a scream from his vocalizer.

"AUUUUGHHHH! DAMMIIIT!" He let out roars of frustration, continuing to pound the ground for a few more moments, cracking the rock below him, before energon tears leaking from his optics once more.


	16. 15: Elita's Lesson

Two Hours later…

Crosshairs debated with Drift and the other Autobots on what step they should take next. The Autobots were unsure of what to do, still reeling from this assault and the now absence of their leader.

Stripes was taking the abduction of Optimus Prime much harder than the rest of them. He was looking over the swords that Lockdown had thrown down to him before leaving. Optimus' sword had cybertronian writing on it, that Stripes could read. It said "Star Saber" on a section of the blade. Obviously a name, or title. The katana had writing on it as well with the same purpose, only it read, "Matrix blade". Not that it made sense, nor made him feel any better about the current situation.

Elita walked up to him, not part of the debate between the other Autobots. She could tell that Stripes was beating himself up over what happened.

"Why are you blaming yourself for what happened when there was nothing you could do?" She asked.

Stripes looked at her, optics dimmed a dark blue. "Because this whole goddamn mess is my fault." Stripes said with a scowl. "I should have just surrendered earlier..."

"Don't say that." Elita said, her voice flat with agitation.

"Why shouldn't I?!" Stripes snapped as he got up, his optics turning a bright crimson, catching everyone's attention. "Thanks to me, Optimus is gone, and we're doomed either way! If I go up to Eternity pass and fight, then they'll scrap Optimus! If I surrender, they'll scrap him anyway, and I'll probably die in either scenario, along with the planet! I wasn't strong enough to stop Lockdown, what makes you think I'll be strong enough to stop him and Galvatron..."

Elita had had enough by then. She backhanded Stripes, knocking him over.

"First of all, quit the whole 'sparkling tantrum' routine, and get a grip. It's not only getting old, it's wearing on everyone's circuits." She snapped back. "Second, ask yourself the right questions. Instead of asking 'Why do I think I'm here?' start asking 'Why have I been brought here?' Third, don't quit on everything so easily. I doubt you quit when you were a few paces behind an opponent when you raced. True, this is a different scenario, but it's the same concept." She activated her energon blades, and assumed a combat stance. "Now, pick up Optimus' sword and spar with me. Perhaps that will make things more clear."

Stripes got up, grasping the Star Saber in his hands. He assumed an unorthadox stance, but it was a stance nonetheless. All the others could do was watch. They knew better then to challenge Elita when she was teaching.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Elita challenged. "Come at me!"

Stripes charged her in a rush, jumping and swinging the sword over his head like a viking.

A bad move. She quickly dodged what would have been a fatal blow, and launched her counterattack, knocking the sword out of Stripes' hands, and jutting her left energon blade at Stripe's neck servo, stopping inches from an energon line.

"Not the best move you could have made." Elita said, holding up her energon blade to Stripes' faceplate. "Your rage may give you strength, but it also blinds you from other tactics you could have used. If this was a real fight, that blind rush would have cost you your life." She lowered the blade. "Do you think Optimus would have done that if he was in a situation like this? Rushed in, enraged and blind? I don't think he would. Even if he was enraged, he still would have a plan. Since he's not here to think of one for us, that duty now falls to you. I know you are the son of Primus. It's obvious to everybody here. So start using the processors in that cranial unit you have and think: How can we beat Galvatron, and save Optimus?"

Stripes looked up at the sky. After a pause, he responded:  
"We're not going to do it by sitting here and feeling sorry for ourselves, or by blaming each other. We need to take the fight to him… But before we do, we need a few more fighters. And I will need to learn how to fight better, and with a clear head." He turned to Ratchet. "Who else has died upon coming to Earth?"

Ratchet looked up wearily. "Well, there was Ironhide, if they have anything that's left of him, not to mention Jazz and Sentinel Prime. I'd be careful with Sentinel, though. He was a bit… confused when we first found him, and that led to disaster. But it's your call."


	17. 16: Refirbished and Rebuilt

Chapter 16

Refurbished and Rebuilt

 _Unknown Government Waste/Scrap Facility_

 _Six Hours later…_

Stripes looked around the old Government facility with the other Autobots. Cade and the rest of the humans had to wait outside, due to the obvious dangers.

As they looked through all the scrap metal and bits and pieces of parts, they were starting to lose hope of finding Jazz's and Sentinel's parts. So far, there was no sign of Ironhide's remains anywhere, either.

Stripes then remotely hacked a door to a large hangar-like building with his electronics, simulating wireless connections.

"Well, this surely isn't suspicious at all." Stripes whispered to himself with sarcasm, walking in. "Why would they need such a huge building if this is only a scrap...yard?" Stripes' words trailed off as he saw what was in front of him: Cybertronian remains! And a large container with the name "Ironhide" on the side!

He had found them! The other Autobots walked into the building, and saw the remains as well!

"This is all of them..." Crosshairs whispered. "Sentinel, Jazz, Ironhide, Sideswipe...

"All right..." Stripes said. "I guess it's time to work my magic." He picked up the remains, Closing his optics, focusing. They then opened again, glowing a gold hue. Various other pieces of scrap hovered around them, melting into a lava-lamp like liquid, and again, filling and sealing the damage in their chassis and bodies. It solidified, and soon, their sparks started beating again. But they were still in stasis.

"I left them that way so we wouldn't alert security. If they woke here, we'd have a lot of problems." Stripes explained. "We'll have to drag them out of here. Then activate them."

"Alright, come on." Crosshairs said to the others. "Let's get this over with."

# # # # # # #

Ironhide awoke slowly, his processors and mind in a haze. His memory was returning to him slowly. He remembered fighting with Sentinel, but beyond that… Nothing else.

His optics slowly came online, they were having trouble getting into focus for some reason. When they cleared, he saw a face he never expected to see again.

Elita-One.

"Elita?" He sat up, worried about what happened to his NEST comnrades. "What's going on…? Where's…"

"Just be calm, Ironhide." Elita said. "A lot has happened since your last battle."

This worried Ironhide. "...Am I gone? Has my spark joined the Matrix?"

"Far from it, my friend." Ratchet immediately recognized the vocalizer patter as Sentinel's. He jumped on his feet. Still woozy, but ready for confrontation. Jazz immediately jumped between them.

"Woah, woah! Calm down, you hothead firecracker!" Jazz snapped. "We have bigger things to worry about! Like who brought us back from the dead, for instance!"

It was then that Ironhide remembered everything. He had been offlined! Yet here he was, online and right as rain! But how?

Ironhide stood down. "...Who did this?"

"The Son of Primus." Elita said simply. "He goes by the name Stripes. A modified BMW M3 is his vehicle mode of choice."

"Where is he?" Sideswipe asked, rolling up on his wheeled feet.

"He said he needed to do some 'soul searching' so he left for a drive." Sentinel answered. "A foolish move, in my opinion. After all that I've heard about the humans hunting us..."

"Wait, what?!" Ironhide snapped.

Jazz took Ironhide by the shoulder. "'Hide, this is all going to come as a shock, but we need to get you up to speed..."


	18. 17: Set you Free

_Route 66 –_ _10:52 PM_

Nikki drove along the Route 66, heading for the highway back to Palmont. She had taken a small vacation according to her therapist's recommendation. So she had decided to spend some time on the road. She wasn't driving her Ford GT. No, she had hardly driven the GT at all in the past few months. It brought back too many memories of… him. Instead, she had bought herself a modestly modified Mazda 3 for the trip.

Nikki looked at the blue emerald ring on her finger. The Gem was not too big, nor too small, the band made of platinum. Again, it wasn't too big, small, or heavy. It was remarkably well balanced, and reminded her of the way Carlos had tuned his new M3. It had been balanced, like this ring. A thing of beauty, something to be appreciated. Carlos had paid a small fortune for it. Now it was all she had left of him.

She turned her attention back to the road as she drove, immediately getting her mind off of Carlos. It was a quiet night on the road.

The mood of the road would soon betray her. There was a couple cars pulling up behind her. She took a peek in her rear view mirror, and saw the outlines of a BMW M3, and an Audi R8 LeMans Quattro.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

"You didn't have to come with me, Dairus." Stripes said to Dairus through his World Wide Web/cellular link.

"Let's agree to disagree on that one." Dairus replied as they drove down the road.

Stripes went silent. The continued to drive, passing a Mazda 3. Stripes knew it was way too quiet.

Then, as if right on cue, Razor plowed right up on the road, in vehicle mode, followed by Barricade, transforming right in front of them.

Stripes and Dairus followed suit, getting in front of the Mazda they had passed, which had just turned off the road into an abandoned hotel, no doubt taking cover. Stripes then recognized who it was! It was Nikki! But he turned his attention to the two threats in front of them.

"Why do you do this, Razor?" Stripes asked. "I'm not surrendering. Not to Galvatron, and not to you!"

"That won't matter, either way." Razor said, readying his multi-barrel guns. "As a matter of fact, I prefer dragging your aft to Galvatron, screaming and kicking included!"

"Just remember, Razor! Galvatron wants him intact and not offlined! Don't get any ideas from your former rivalry!"

"I know, don't destroy the merchandise..." Razor said. "Still doesn't mean I can't ding it up a little in the process."

With that, the battle began. Razor fired a chain of shots from his guns. Stripes went back to vehicle mode, and peeled out, evading the incoming fire, then going back to robot mode! Dairus took cover behind the abandoned hotel's sign, shooting at Barricade!

Stripes then drove by the Hotel, a couple of shots hitting it and Stripes, the rest barely missing the garage! It was then that Razor noticed Nikki, as she had let out a loud scream when the hotel had been hit.

"Well, what do you know?" He said. "Hostage for the taking… And not just any hostage." Razor turned to Stripes, who was in the process of trying to get up. "This should turn the odds in my favor, shouldn't it Carlos?"

Stripes looked up, seeing Razor walking up to the Garage, bending down on one knee to reach into the garage. He could hear Nikki scream.

Stripes then snapped, his eyes glowing blood red. He charged, frenzied, tackling Razor away from the Garage, his Energon blades out. Stripes wrestled with Razor in the dirt, getting on top of him. He popped out his energon blades, and proceeded to stab Razor Repeatedly in the spark chamber! He offlined on the spot! But that didn't stop Stripes' fury, as he continued to stab and slash at Razor's chassis!

"Stop! Kid, stop!" Darius snapped, dragging Stripes off of Razor's corpse, and back to his senses. Barricade stepped out of cover, seeing the sight as Stripes calmed down from the rush.

"Kid, it's alright! She's safe!" Darius reassured Stripes. Things seemed to stand still from that moment.

Then, Nikki spoke.

"...Carlos?"

Stripes got up, turning to Nikki, whom was standing at the edge of the garage. She cautiously stepped out into the open. Tears were running down her face.

"...It's me." Stripes said, his eyes going back to their usual violet hue.

Things were silent as they both stared at each other. The silence seemed to last for an eternity, unbroken by anything.

Nikki then did something that would affect the course of Stripes' actions against the Decepticons, and break his spark.

"…I'm sorry, I can't do this." She said. "...Carlos, I set you free from me."

She slowly took the ring off her finger, and carefully set it down on the cracked, sun-baked pavement of the parking lot. Then she jumped in her car, and took off down the road.

All Stripes could do was watch in shock as she drove away. He then looked down at the ring on the ground. He picked it up, his giant robot digits carefully grasping the ring. He could not stop the flow of energon tears that started to run down his faceplate.

Dairus walked up, putting a hand on Stripes's shoulder strut.

"...I'm sorry." He said.


	19. 18: Anger Management

Stripes was barely able to contain his feelings. He was enraged, heartbroken, confused, and disgusted, all rolled together. He turned to Barricade, pointing at him, his optics changing back to a blood red hue. Combined with the glowing energon tears running down his face, it made for a disturbing, fearful sight.

"You…" Stripes bared his dental bands.

Barricade knew then he was in trouble. Stripes' popped out his arm cannon.

But Barricade had a surprise of his own. He put up his arms, ejecting all of his ammo cartridges, weapon heat sinks, and melee blades.

"...You'll never get a better shot, Kin of Primus. I am at your mercy, and will face your wrath if necessary."

Stripes was unmoved. Dairus just laughed.

"You just don't get it, do you, 5-0 wannabe?!" Dairus snapped in disgust. "Your war, your 'conflict', whatever the hell you wanna call it, has cost my friend everything! A chance to live, to learn, now you've stripped him of a chance to love... You really think after all you've done, after all this damage, after all you've torn from him, that you will be able to withstand his 'wrath'?!" Dairus laughed as if it was all a joke. "Do you have any idea what true 'wrath' even is? Or true pain? Because right now, you are about to face it all ten-fold, and I look forward to watching him tear you apart piece by piece. I might even join in, considering how I share his disgust with you Decepticon losers..."

"Maybe." Barricade responded. "But I doubt you would offline an unarmed mech, Kin of Primus. Also, instead of striking the feet of the Decepticons, wouldn't you rather aim for the head?"

Stripes's rage was not quelled that easy, but he retained enough control to hold back. "You've got my attention, copper, but don't think that just because you are unarmed I won't send you to the scrapyard. It's very tempting, even now, to just leave you here with holes in your chassis and body. So don't think for a moment I'm letting you off easy. Now what are you getting at?"

Barricade's face displayed a war-torn warrior who had seen enough. "I'm sick of Galvatron and his war. Even when I knew him as Megatron, I had my doubts about him. I just never spoke them in front of the other Decepticons out of fear. But now, after all I have witnessed, after all I have been forced to do, I have had enough. I am asking to join your cause, stop Galvatron from taking away our hopes for a future. Right now, my fate is in your hands. I hope you make the right choice."

Dairus scoffed. "You want to switch sides? Do you really think it is just that easy..."

"Fine." Stripes interrupted. "But I have conditions."

Dairus looked at Stripes, surprised. "Are you serious?!"

"Think of it this way, Dairus." Stripes said. "We'd have access to Galvatron's plans, some of his henchmen's data, and various other things that could turn the tide in our favor. Plus, he might be our shot at getting Optimus back. Besides, this will give us a hidden advantage. He's not a friend, of course, but he will be a good asset."

"Well, this is just my opinion, but I think you are off by two letters." Dairus said. "But it's your call."

He stepped forward, right in front of Barricade. "Here are the conditions: You will be watched at all times, and always accompanied by another Autobot. You will follow my commands to the letter, t's crossed and i's dotted. No deviating from any plan or strategy, or you _will_ be shot and sent to the scrap heap. Also, I want no contact between you and your former commander. Either erase those frequencies from your memory right now, or rip out your communicator equipment. I will have Ratchet check your memory for any of those frequencies."

"Consider it done." Barricade said, wiping the frequencies from his memory. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Stripes said. He then punched Barricade in the faceplates, knocking him down to the ground. As his optics faded into stasis, he heard Stripes say one thing:  
"That was for driving her away from me. And this, is for everything else..."

The last thing Barricade saw was Stripes popping out his energon blade before blacking out.


	20. 19: Reflection

_Lake Palmont_

 _Several Hours Later..._

"What in Primus' name did you do?" Elita shouted, waking Barricade from his stasis.

"Apparently, he did a number on him." Crosshairs said.

"You can't say he didn't deserve it..." Stripes began.

"That's not the point!" Elita snapped. "Doing stuff like what you did to Barricade's faceplates is no better than what Galvatron did to you! Keep this up, and you _will_ become no better than him! Did you even stop to think of that?!"

Stripes went silent. Then Elita continued her lecture.

"Everything comes with a consequence, Stripes! Damaging and disfiguring a potential ally was a stupid, reckless, and dark move! Anger-driven actions like that reflect on you, and your stance on things! And the more you do said actions, the more you become numb to the consequences! That's what pushes people to evil, soulless points like Galvatron!" She sighed. "...We'll talk more about this later. Just think about what I've just told you." She then walked off.

Barricade was unsure what was going on. Stripes did something to his faceplates? He got up, and saw Drift.

"Just what did he do?" Barricade asked.

Drift pointed to the lake. "Go see for yourself."

Barricade walked over, and looked at his reflection in the lake. Stripes had left two deep marks on his faceplate in a cross over one of his optics. It was a miracle it was still functioning, as there was circuitry exposed around the mecha-wounds. Nevertheless, it wasn't that bad. At least from Barridcade's perspective. In his opinion, it made him seem more distinguished, though he didn't say anything about it out loud, for he did not want to provoke another confrontation with Stripes.

He got up and went back to the group after staring at his new look for a few seconds. As the humans said, take it with a grain of salt


	21. 20: Cinderella Man - PT 1

Nikki got back to Palmont. She went up to her apartment, closing and locking the door. She then sat on the sofa and started crying. What had happened to Carlos? Did she make the right decision to leave him? So much was going through her head, she couldn't think straight. She was distraught, shocked, and confused, all rolled in one.

That's when she received a knock at the door.

"Go away!" She yelled, throwing a vase at the door. Shortly after that, things got worse. The door was kicked down, and the next thing Nikki knew, she was surrounded by robotic humanoid drones.

 _Two weeks later – Eternity Pass_

Galvatron waited atop Eternity Pass with Nikki and Optimus prime in tow. Stripes was now due to either turn himself over to him, or put up a resistance.

"Are you sure this will draw him out?" Galvatron asked Lockdown.

"I'm sure." Lockdown replied. "You'll have what you came for, believe me."

"Really?" Galvatron turned to Lockdown. "How will I know you won't just drag him off to your foolish creators like you said? After all, didn't you say they 'called dibs'?"

"I'm not about to cross you." Lockdown lied smoothly. "You have the upper hand, and have more man power. So why would I do something like that and jeopardize my well-being?"

Galvatron gave him a leery look, then focused back on scanning the area for Stripes's signature.

"He won't surrender himself to you..." Optimus rapsed weakly, his arms and legs tethered together by chains Lockdown had brought. "Mark my words, with all that you've done to him, he'll die before he gives himself to you..."

Galvatron then stomped on Optimus hard on his chest, causing him to leave an indent of himself in the ground.

"So sure about that, you invadel?" Galvatron snickered. "in case you forgot, I have his old flame with us." He pointed to a transparent contained filled with a nanite solution. "If he wants to spare his lover the same fate he has experienced, he _will_ surrender himself to me, no questions asked, or she will fall into the 'conversion solution' and she will also be turned. Resistance or not, I still win. Now all we have to do is wait…."

001010101010100001110001110000000110100011000001001

 _Meanwhile, at the Base of Eternity Pass_

Stripes drew a large breath into his intakes. He was beyond pissed when he found out that Galvatron had Nikki in his clutches. Luckily, he had prepared himself for this. They had salvaged some of Razor's old parts. Stripes had exchanged his arm cannon for Razor's Finger-Barrel machine guns, and relocated the cannon to his shoulder.

Dairus had also decided to take some of Razor's parts, specifically his melee blades, a scram-acceleration barrel on his sniper rifle for both accuracy and a bigger punch, and engine performance parts. It had taken them all of the two weeks to prepare themselves, but they were now here.

And Stripes had one final score to settle.

"Stripes?" Drift asked. "May I speak with you before this final battle?"

"What is it?" Stripes asked, turning to face him.

"...I should have done this sooner. I… I apologize for trying to off-line you when we were in the desert at the way station. I was consumed by anger and despair…"

"You're forgiven." Stripes cut him off. "Right now, let's get back on track. Dairus, you ready?"

"Yeah." Dairus replied. "And Call me 'Knockout' from now on. It'll suit me better than just 'Dairus'. Besides, I need a name to fit in, like you. You know?"

"Alright, Knockout." Stripes replied. He then turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone remember your parts. Ratchet, Sentinel when me and the group get on _Eternity Pass Road_ , jam their radios and start the music! Drift, stay behind at the beginning of the road to intercept any tailgaters. The rest of you will take on any other threats during, and when, we get to the top. If things go the way I think they do, Me and Elita will be the only ones at the top of the road. After you take care of your parts, pursue us to the top. Don't let anything stop you. Got it?"

The group nodded. Stripes then looked down, saddened.

"...This may be our final fight. Some of us may not survive. So before we go, I want to say… It's been an honor and a privilege, getting to know each and every one of you. You've taught me to fight, but more importantly, you've taught me not to be afraid of them, and not to be afraid of what I truly am. Now let's go and kick some Decepticon aft!"

With that, they transformed, and peeled out to their positions.


	22. 21: Cinderalla Man - PT 2

_Author's note: Lyrics don't belong to me._

Galvatron waited, his units scattered across the pass. He had some old Cemetary Wind personell set up a roadblock at the base of the pass. The rest of the Decepticons were scattered about. Everything was setup. It was the waiting that bothered him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of being up at the top, he received a communication from the roadblock.

"Lord Galvatron, there's a vehicle approaching the roadblock. I think it's him, but I'm not sure… Wait!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of burning rubber, a high rev of engines! The Cemetary Wind personnel went into panic! Then there was the sound of crunching metal, then the radio went dead.

"Cemetary wind, what the slag is going on down there?!" Galvatron demanded. No response. He switched his receiver to a different band, to contact a unit to investigate.

What he got was unexpected. Music was playing over the band! Very loud music!

 _Who can catch lightning in a bottle? Set fire to water?  
Comin' out the nozzle on the fire hose, flier than swatters?_

 _Cinderella man, Cinderella man, Cinderella man, Cinderella man._

 _Smash an hourglass, grab the sand, take his hands and cup 'em,  
Spit a rhyme to freeze the clock, take the hands of time and cuff 'em._

 _Cinderella man, Cinderella man, Cinderella man, Cinderella man._

 _There's a storm comin' that the weather man couldn't predict,  
I start the bug prick, you better flee cause I get ticked  
It's a rap, I was down, when I was down I was kicked.  
I got up I'm back to punch ya to the ground, ya trick,  
It's a trap, fuck my last CD that shits in my trash_

"By Primus's spark, what is that racket?!" Lockdown asked, trying to talk over the music.

Galvatron growled. He switched to the backup band, but the same music was playing on that one! It continued at the same pace!

 _You can die in the blink of an eye, so bat ya eyelashes,  
And keep winking and blowin' kisses 'cause you're flirting with death  
I'm destroying your livelihood. I ain't just hurtin' your rep',  
I catch a flow and get goin',  
No remorse I'm showin', ain't slowin' for no one,  
Knowin' there is nothin' you can do about it  
Zeroin' on the target like a marksman,  
The target is you…._

Galvatron and Lockdown heard explosions on the lower levels of the pass. He could see outlines of some of his Decepticons flying off the edges of the road.

The Autobots were here.

00101011100111100010101011010000111010101011100101

Jazz was the last to separate from the group going up Eternity Pass to take care of a Decepticon. Now it was just down to Stripes, and Elita. They rounded the last bend, and saw Galvatron with Lockdown, Optimus Prime, and Nikki! She was on the edge of a platform, below her was the nanite solution that had changed Stripes! Optimus was on the ground, bound up by chains!

Stripes gunned his engine, barreling towards Megatron! He transformed, barreling through the air at high speed, tackling Galvatron to the ground!

"Surprise, you fuckin' son of a bitch!" Stripes said, popping out his energon blade.

"You've done a lot to me over the last few months, but now you've made it personal!"


	23. 22: Final Battle

Galvatron grabbed Stripes Servo before he could plunge it into his chassis! They then proceeded to wrestle in the dirt, tumbling over one another as they neared the edge of a cliff! Megatron flipped Stripes off of him, getting on top of him!

"Why must you continue to resist?!" Galvatron snapped, clenching his claws around Stripe's neck. "Do you have any idea of what I'm trying to do?!"

Stripes drove his energon blades into Galvatron's shoulder struts, causing the Decepticon leader to let out a yowl of pain.

"Does it look like I care?" Stripes said with a chill as cold as the grave, as he shoved Galvatron off of him. They both got up, Stripes readying his new machine guns. He proceeded to shoot Galvatron repeatedly, whom closed in on Stripes as he fired his shoulder cannon. Galvatron recoiled, and Stripes switched back to his melee blades. The two then deadlocked.

Meanwhile, Elita was having her own battle with Lockdown. They, however, were taking a more ranged approach, shooting at each other, moving from cover behind rocks. So far, they had not hit each other. Yet.

"Just how many times have you managed to cheat death?" Elita asked.

"More than you can count in this vorn!" Lockdown snapped back. "Can you say this same?"

Knockout and Jazz arrived at the top. Knockout got out his melee blades, ready to help Stripes.

"No, you two!" Stripes yelled. "Help Optimus and Nikki!"

Knockout did as he was told. He broke the glass of the container, grabbing Nikki out of it just in time. He took cover next to Elita, giving her covering fire. One of his shots hit Knockout in the left of his chest, the other in the arm, sending him spinning into the ground.

"Get out of here, Nikki! Go with Jazz! Get her out of here!" Knockout said. Jazz and Nikki did as they were told, Jazz changing to vehicle mode. Nikki got in, and they high-tailed it out of the area. He then turned to Elita.

"Come on! Let's free Optimus!" They got up and started to run to the Autobot leader.

"Oh no, you don't..." Knockout then sent a signal to several things surrounding the battle area. They were explosives! Elita and Knockout barely had time to take cover, as a ring of explosives detonated around them and the Autobot leader! Everyone was surrounded in a burning hellfire!

"NOO!" Stripes then got out the Matrix Blade, slashing off one of Galvatron's servos, and ran deeper into the fiery blaze towards the Prime! The heat was intense, as the flames started to spread to the trees and shrubs on the pass!

"OPTIMUS!" Stripes cried out for the Autobot leader, looking for him through the flames, panicked. "OPTIMUS, WHERE ARE YOU?! ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"

He heard a groan nearby. Stripes ran towards the sound, and found Optimus. He was battered by the explosion! Several good dents were now embedded in his chassis, his frame was fractured in his midsection! One of his legs struts was now missing, it was a miracle what was left of him was still intact at all!

"Come on..." Stripes struggled to lift what remained of the Autobot leader, dragging him away from the flames to a different section of the pass. As Stripes set him down, kneeling next to the Autobot leader, Optimus coughed violently, regurgitating energon. His optics were starting to flicker and fade.

"God, no! No, no, no, don't do this to me!" Stripes said, shaking Optimus' chassis, Optics leaking fluid again. "Dammit, don't do this to me, WE NEED YOU!"

Optimus raised a weak servo up to Stripes' faceplates. "It's alright… Don't worry about me..." He wheezed. "Protect… them..."

Optimus offlined shortly after those words left his vocalizer. Stripes was in disbelief.

"Optimus? OPTIMUS?!" Stripes shook Optimus' frame again, but he got no response. Stripes then had a silent break down. Energon tears flowed form his optics, but no sounds came from him. He touched his forehead to Optimus' own. The fire continued to burn near them, going out of control.

"No..." Stripes whispered.

He then heard something. Between the crackling rage of the fire, he heard footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. He looked up, and saw Galvatron walk up, side by side with Lockdown. They surrounded him.

"You should have known better." Knockdown said. "Now, he is gone, and you have no one to blame but yourself..."

"Why do you not understand?" Galvatron said. "They all fight for a lost cause! Can you not see it is not worth it? That it is not worth his life, nor your own?"

Stripes stood up slowly, the tension thick in the air. The rage in him was barely restrained at this point. He drew out the star saber, holding it in one hand, the Matrix blade in the other.

"You didn't stop as his." Stripes responded. "Nor will you stop at mine. Both of you are as good as dead. I'll take you both on."

He lunged for Lockdown first, slicing at his chassis. Galvatron tried to grab Stripes in response, but Stripes' turned and stabbed him with the Star Saber. He then withdrew it, and slashed at Galvatron. Stripes switched his attacks between the two strategically, with swift strikes, while dodging and blocking his opponents when he could, not leaving a single opportunity wasted. Since he was fighting two-to-one with slim odds, he was still taking a lot of damage. If he could block a blow from one, he still had to deal with the attack from the other.

Galvatron's movements were methodical, patient. He waited for the best opportunities to inflict as much damage as possible. He found a chance when Stripes was thrown off balance by a block, and charged in, body slamming stripes with his shoulder strut. Stripes was thrown back, and into Knockdown's grasp.

"Surrender yet, or do we need to beat it out of you?" Knockdown asked.

"Two words..." Stripes snarled. "DEATH FIRST!" He shoved Knockdown into a burning tree, knocking himself out of Knockout's grasp, whom fell to the ground! Stripes jumped on him, slicing off his leg struts and stabbing him in the spark chamber. Stripes then turned around to face Galvatron.

Galvatron wasted no more words. He charged at Stripes, who swung the star saber's blade at him. Galvatron then caught it with his arm, and shoved Stripes away, who lost his grip on the blade. Galvatron then took the blade, and tossed it aside.

Stripes got up, his optics glowing crimson. He let out a yell, and charged at Galvatron, piercing his chest with the Matrix blade, going after his primary processor. The strike was surprisingly effective, as the blade pierced Galvatron's body, going straight through. Stripes then focused all his energy on the Matrix blade, sending power surging through it! Galvatron let out a yowl of pain, as the surge went through him. This went on for a good few minutes, frying the majority of Galvatron's sytems. Stripes then withdrew the blade, killing the charge, and lobbed of one of Galvatron's arms! Galvatron fell over, in pain, but still alive. He then noticed he could not transform anymore! Nor could he control his weapons, or regenerate his damage! His defense and transformation systems were fried completely!

Stripes looked at Galvatron with tempered fury, both their optics locked in a hateful gaze.

"Enough life has been lost." Stripes spoke, pointing the Matrix blade at Galvatron. "Be grateful I'm giving you this chance. Get off this planet, I don't care how you do it. Earth is now under my protection. If I ever see you again, I will offer no mercy, no pity, no remorse. Now leave."

Galvatron slowly got up, his gaze not leaving Stripes, clutching the mecha-wound where his arm used to be. "You've chosen the wrong side… You are not human, and you never will be… You are beyond any of us, yet you remain ignorant to it..." He started to walk off, into the fire. Galvatron then turned back to face Stripes.

"It may not seem like it, but l loved you like a brother..." He said. With that, Galvatron walked off into the blaze, never to be seen again.

Stripes then walked back over to Optimus' body, His optics going back to their violet color. He knelt down, holding the prime's body. How could he have let this happen? Could he even reverse the damage? He wasn't sure. It took a lot out of him when he revived Ratchet, though it became a bit easier after reviving so many others. But did he have what it took to revive a prime?

Stripes pushed those thoughts aside. He had no choice but to try, or this would have all been for nothing. He focused on what he knew of Optimus, and thoughts of good. He focused hard on those thoughts. His optics turned gold again, and Optimus's frame started to float. A dust cloud surrounded them, turning to a gale, drawing in part of the fire nearby, engulfing them in flame. Optimus started to become whole again, being rebuilt, but he still needed more. Stripes put all his focus on the prime. It still wasn't enough. Left with know other choice, Stripes opened his chest plates, then started to give part of his own energy for Optimus, sending it from his own spark into his chassis.

After a few long, draining moments, he got the desired effect. He heard Optimus' spark begin to pulse again, as he let out a roar of life. He was online again!

Stripes watched Optimus descend form the air, back to the ground. For some reason, he wasn't getting up like he was supposed to. Stripes fell over, severely weakened. He had to give a lot of his own energy to bring back the Prime. Now, he was exhausted. He couldn't stand anymore, he could barely keep his optics online.

He heard the others approaching. Sentinel, Hound, Elita, and Knockout ran through the fire. Sentinel and hound grabbed Optimus, while Elita and Knockout helped Stripes. They then ran away from the blaze, to the others, as Stripes blacked out.


	24. Epilogue: Cries for Speed

Stripes was once again in darkness. His mind was hazy, his vision blurred. He was surrounded in a void, with no one there, feeling like he was dying. Did he really give that much energy to bring back Optimus? For that matter, did he even succeed?

The void around him then lit up, with small points of light. It was as if he was under a starlit sky. Shapes started to emerge from the darkness. Silhouettes of other transformers, as if they had been there watching the whole time. Yet they never stepped into the light itself.

"Who are you?" Stripes asked.

"For one who claims to know so little, you know much more. Yet you are ignorant to it." One of the figures said.

"...That's kinda dodging the question, don't you think?" Stripes said.

"Indeed." Another spoke. "As for who we are, you know, but have long since forgotten after leaving your creator, your father Primus. We are the primes. Past Holders and keepers of the Matrix of Leadership, and it's knowledge. From the beginning, there has always been a prime. Your revival of the latest of our dynasty is noble, to say the least."

Stripes looked up at the figures. "So I succeeded in bringing Optimus back?"

"Correct, though he will need time to heal completely." The next prime spoke. "However, you yourself have now been placed in jeopardy. We are doing everything in our power, and Primus's power, to let you live. You are not yet ready to become one with the grand matrix, itself. You have much more ahead of you."

"But… I am just one being. I've already done much. How will I know what to do next?" Stripes asked.

"Your spark will guide you, as will the spark of your lover, along with the ones of your new found friends and allies, the Autobots." Another prime answered. "Let it guide you, and them, down a noble, and swift path, back to your father and Cybertron itself."

The light then started to spread, and shine all around him. It became so bright, it blurred everything out of view in a flash of white. Then, he was awake again. Stripes looked around. He was surrounded by the Autobots. He was flat on his back, with Hound and Ratchet hovering over him. They were on a different section of Eternity Pass. The fire was nowhere in sight.

"Thank Primus, we thought we'd lost you!" Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief.

"So he's alright?" A human voice said. Stripes turned his head, and saw Nikki standing there with Cade and the other humans!

"You're not scared of me anymore?" Stripes said.

"No." Nikki said. "Not anymore. You saved my life. Though the fight did start a bit of a fire, and you freaked me out by nearly dying." She finished in her usual sassy tone.

"Uh… Whoops?" Stripes replied sheepishly.

"Yeah." Nikki replied, still ever sassy. "As for Optimus, don't worry. He's alright. Just needs his leg struts repaired, according to Ratchet and Hound. Speaking of which, is he alright to go for a quick drive?"

"Are you mad, woman?!" Ratchet exclaimed. "He still needs to be checked for any further damage! Do you have any idea..."

"Ratchet." Hound said, cutting him off. "I think he'll be fine for a short drive. I'm not ready any serious damage on the scans. Besides, they need some time to 'catch up' according to Knockout, and we could use the spare time to fix up boss."

Ratchet ran one last scan. "...D'oh, fine!" He finally said. "Just please, for the love of Primus, don't go searching for trouble! Knockout! Crosshairs! Irnohide! Go with him to make sure he does as he is told!"

"I'll see to that." Knockout replied. "He won't be getting into any trouble with me around."

"Ditto." Ironhide added.

"Third that motion." Crosshairs said with a smile on his faceplates.

 _Later, on the road…_

Nikki sat in Stripes' driver side seat, as he drove at a steady pace through the Silverton district of Palmont city. The lights and fancy shops, casinos, and dwellings were a sight to behold as they drove.

"Do you think Galvatron will ever come back?" Ironhide asked over the radio.

"I doubt it." Knockout said. "If it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to show my face around here after getting my ass whipped like that."

"You mean 'aft'." Crosshairs corrected. "Aft, Knockout."

"...Yeah." Knockout agreed. "That's what I meant to say."

"Nikki, are you alright?" Stripes asked. "You're being awfully quiet."

Nikki sighed. "I dunno. I want us to be together again, but I'm not sure how we'd make it work, unless I somehow was to become one of you..."

Stripes paused for a second, as they stopped at a light. "...I'd be willing, and very happy to let you back into my life." He said. "Look in the glove compartment."

Nikki raised an eyebrow. She leaned over to the passenger side and opened the glove box.

Inside was the ring she had cast aside earlier!

"I kept it, just in case." Stripes said. "As for becoming one of us, you'd have to talk to Ratchet and Hound."

Nikki beamed, tears in here eyes. Even after all this, he still cared. She put on the ring once more.

"At the very least, If I can become one of you guys, I could use this for a hood ornament. Or a shift lever decoration, or something." She said, wiping away the tears.

All of the group chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah. I guess you'd want to scan your Ford GT so you could change into it." Stripes said.

"You still catch on quickly." Nikki said. "I guess some things never change."

"So what now?" Crosshairs asked. "We still need to see about Cemetery wind..."

"Galvatron just had them under his control." Stripes explained. "Now with him gone, I think we'll see a second coming of NEST. Besides, we still need to go by Nikki's place after she becomes one of us so she can scan her car."

"What about after that?" Knockout asked.

"...Then, we'll just have to satisfy our cries for speed." Stripes answered, getting on the freeway. "Then, we'll see what happens from there. We have much ahead of us."

THE END


End file.
